


Apple Harvest

by RV_Qkpndj



Category: Original Work
Genre: Eldritch, Gen, Horror, Lovecraftian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:35:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23184883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RV_Qkpndj/pseuds/RV_Qkpndj
Summary: Come on down to Apple Harvest! Get your fresh Apples today!
Collections: A Collection Of Short Stories





	Apple Harvest

_Something is not right here in Apple Harvest._

Detective Joseph Bernard Alonso called in from the big city of Richmond is here to investigate multiple missing person cases. He is a gravelly man, stocky, the sun has kissed his skin permanently. 

_Something is not right with Detective Alonso._

He traveled to Apple Harvest. A quiet town located just a mile or two from the North Carolina border. Apple Harvest is home to over 10,000 people, one of the largest towns in the area, besides it neighbors the New Orange Township (which strictly talking in population size is more of a city with its 150,000 odd residents). Apple Harvest is tranquil and spread out over a wide area its key feature is the five large orchards that surround it. 

_Something is not right with the Orchards._

The Detective is listening to the local Police Captain drone on about the kidnappings. 35 in the past six months. Mostly young travelers, in groups of three’s or two’s, and one lone man. That one man was why the Detective was here. Gunnery Sergeant Kyle Sodalski went missing on his way to visit his young cousin Pearl Lutman at the Blutstadt Academy. He was last seen the night of October 16 around 8 o’clock leaving the Pride Inn on the corner of Longstreet and 2nd. A witness (a young lady named Amy O'Sullivan) watched Sodalski pack his car in a hurry. That car he was driving, abandoned on the side of the road, with its hazard lights blinking and passenger-side door ajar. 

_Something is not right with the Car._

Detective Alonso was not the only person looking for answers in Apple Harvest. Shortly after his arrival, a Journalist came to find a lead. Arriving before the Detective was a worried relative of one of the missing people. 

_Something is not Right._

Robert Hearst was a writer for a small publication. He craves a story like no other. He has friends in a lot of places. One of his “friends” reported mysterious disappearances in Apple Harvest. Thinking that this was his big chance to get a Nobel Prize, he booked a flight to Virginia. Rob met up with a local historian (the friend who asked him to come), Ashely Bixby. She explained the town was founded in 1709 by five families; The O’Sullivan’s, The Volkov’s, The Blue’s, The Marchand’s, and The Schmidt’s; Only two were slave owners, The Blue’s and The Schmidt’s. After the Civil War, all the slaves stayed with the two families and in a rare case of racial mixing; over time the Blue’s and Schmidt’s became the richest, black families, in the South. They are called the Apple Harvest Five. Each family owns one of the five orchards that circle the town. 

_Something is not right with the Five._

Wendy Valentine missed her brother, Isaac Valentine, who went missing last month. Ms. Valentine doesn’t trust the police around here. No updates, not even a call, she wants to know; “Do they have anything?” Calls after calls no manhunts, no roadblocks, and not even an increase of patrols! Wendy questions the lax response and the absolute laziness of the police and local officials. Frustration taints her every thought. Her brother could be alive out there. Mr. Valentine was a small man and young too. He was on a road trip to New York. He had with him; his girlfriend, Maya, and her older sister Julia. They made a pit stop at the Pride Inn and were never seen again. Wendy has been asking around the town for days. People are starting to notice.

 _Something is not right with Isaac Valentine._

Hearst is also getting the run-around with the police. No one at the AHPD wants to give an interview, the Mayor, Jeff Stevens had him thrown out. He did come across some information, however, more people are missing than just the 35 reported. Following a haggard-looking man to an abandoned warehouse, he found the “Glacier City” entrance. Glacier City, in reality, was a tent city. Many of the more unfortunate people lived there. They had no trouble answering questions. It wasn’t 35 people missing, it was 501! It all started about 6 months ago, in April as the spring rolled in. Old Woman Greyson (the “Mayor” of Glacier City) sat Hearst down and answered all of his probing questions. Hours later the sun had long since faded from the sky and Hearst staggered out of the old Glacier Factory Wearhouse. Fear gripped him. His head snapped around at a sudden commotion behind him. He fled into the night. 

_Someone is watching Him._

Detective Alonso was drinking at “The Poppy” a local bar. He captured a side booth, it was secluded and gave a good view of the rest of the bar. He couldn’t help to notice a woman in red sitting on a barstool. Her expression was stony and her body language standoffish. Her perception was outstanding, her eyes met his, he finally recognized her as the sister of Isaac Valentine. She stormed over to the man. Her face was cold and full of rage. It took some hushed whispers and quick promises to stop the interaction from becoming a scene. The Detective and Ms. Valentine sat in that booth, talking and drinking. Even though they got off on the wrong foot, a few hours of talking and sharing stories, cooled the heat from their interaction. 

_You shouldn’t have done that._

Later that night, Hearst was frantic as he weaved through the whining confusing streets and side alleys. It was only by chance that he spotted the Detective and a woman in red giggling and hiccupping outside of The Poppy. He slowed his pace and followed the pare to the nearby Pride Inn. After they turned a corner he rushed forward and just nearly missing the door of room 219 shutting. No longer observing caution, Hearst slammed his fist against the door in tight hard knocks. The clicking of the bolt and the cracking of the door prompted him to enter. 

_…._

Wendy could not believe her ears. 501 abducted people? She feels deep underwater, in way over her head. The Journalist rants and raves about murder and conspiracies. There are some holes in this mad man’s theory. There must be! Alonso listens, his features never divulging any emotion or insight. The Detective requests evidence. That question should stonewall this mad man! But he hesitates and slides his hand into his coat. Out comes a folder, it is thick and dirty, how did he fit that in there? Much to her horror, it is full of hard evidence. Terrible, horrible, undeniable. So how she gathered some courage. “What is our plan, boys?”

_She hungers…._

They spend the rest of the week doing surveillance and searching the Orchard for graves. They don’t know who to trust. Anyone can be part of this “group”? They record everything find. They mark a map of places they searched. They have gotten good at losing their shadows. They follow mostly at night than in the day. They can’t get a good look at their pursuer. Found it is much easier to shake them, then to catch a peek. As the week comes to a close and Halloween’s bloody red sunsets in the west, they still haven’t found any of the bodies. 

_J O I N U S T O N I G H T_

Alonso picks one of the shiniest and reddest apple he has ever seen. He imagines it tastes as sweet as it looks. Before he can take a bite, a voice sounds out, deeper in the orchard.

“Join. Us,” the wind chants. 

“Who is there?” He turns his head to locate the origin of the voice. 

“Please, HELP!” Alonso knows that voice. Wendy! It was Wendy that screamed!

“Wendy? Where are you? Wendy!” He is replied with more screaming. He bolts in the direction he thinks she is. Every time he gets near the source it seemingly changes locations. After hours of running, he is right back where he started. Wendy’s screams sound from all directions. Alonso in his terror crushes the apple he held on to. The flesh of the apple is warm and slick. He dares look down at his hand. Blood. The apple is full of blood. Something wiggles in his closed fist. He opens his palm. Wendy’s eye stares up at him. Her eye is pleading. It is too late for her. You know that, don’t you Alonso? You can’t save her. You can’t save anyone. Not Wendy, Not Robert, Not Jordan, you remember Jordan, right? It was sad what happened. It was your fault. It is time you pay up, Alonso. Wake up. Wake Up. WAKE UP!

_Gsv Mrtsg Rh Sviv..._

The Detective’s eyes open. He is in his room at the Inn. Hearst is by the window watching the street below and Wendy is curled up in a ball snoring softly. Hearst makes a noise, a strangled yelp. Alonso meets him at the window. There a group of figures gather along street. They are all dressed in dark clothes, their faces covered by off-putting home-made masks. They all stare up at the window. Wendy is behind them now, trying to see what they are looking at. The dark gaggle charges the Inn. Blind panic. Crashes. Broken glass. The taste of blood. Stinging temples. Eyes. Shouting. Darkness. Nothing. 

_It will be over soon…_

They wake up tied to each other. They are in a part of the Orchard that is old. Men and women have gathered around them. They are chanting in a strange language and dancing strange dances. Wendy sees tables lined with food and a grill. One of the masked occultists is flipping burgers! It looks to be a neighborhood barbeque not an evil rite! All of them laugh. They are jolly! Alonso yells out the Mayor’s name. The laughing stops. They turn to the leader high above them. He stands on a ziggurat, an ornate arch frames him from behind. He removes his mask, and behold it is Mayor Jeff Stevens! 

“We are the descendants of the Great Five! This is our Orchard and it is the blood of our people that water it! Our Queen demands payment in flesh and bone! This is how our Great Orchard has prospered!” The Mayor smiles at the gaggle, “You will be the fertilizer that pushes us into another era!” 

The crowd jeers and cheers at the man’s speech. They all have knives! They giggle like a pack of wild dogs. Circling the captives. Snapping at them with mock swings and purpose misses. Just as one of the masked cultists goes to swing, Alonso springs into action. He had freed them all with a small pocketknife he kept in his waistband. They hadn’t searched them! Confusion and chaos reign! 

“Run!” the Three run back into the Orchard. 

They are all separated. Going off into opposing directions to each other. Wendy is full of adrenaline, running, running, running, and stop! A faint noise catches her attention. 

“Isaac?” she calls out. 

“Wendy! I am here!” Isaac’s soft voice replies.

“Where? I don’t see you?”

“Here! It is too dark to see!” Isaac’s is frantic. 

“I don’t understand!” Wendy hears scratching.

“Please, help me!” the scratching is louder now. 

Wendy finds the source. At the base of a tall apple tree. Wendy uses her bare hands and starts to dig into the earth. She can feel it! Her brother is under here and she will free him! A hand! Rejoice! 

“Stay with me, Wendy. Forever and ever and ever and ever!” Isaac’s voice contorts and deepens. The hand is boney and claws at Wendy’s skin. A force like a vice, that thing in the ground pulls with all its might. Wendy snaps her arm with a sickening crack! She is free! The fear overriding the pain, she runs once again through the woods. A light! Electric lights! She runs out of the tree line right into on-coming traffic. 

_Something Terrible has Happened._

Footage from Last Session 009 (5/12/2020):

[Patient 56 is sitting in bed staring at an apple]

[Doctor -Redacted- enters the room]

D- How are you doing today, Sweetie?

[Patient 56 doesn’t respond]

D- Ms. Valentine? 

[Patient 56 has picked up the apple]

D- Dear, I must inform you that we are transferring you to the Psychiatric Hospital at Apple Harvest- 

[Patient 56 attacks Doctor -Redacted-]

[End Tape]


End file.
